Were Ralph Garman And Adam West From Family Guy Friends In Real Life?
"Family Guy" is known for its many guest stars that have lent their voices to the show throughout the years. Drew Barrymore, Erik Estrada, Bob Barker, and the cast of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" are just some of the famous voices that fans have heard. But there is one guest star that commanded the attention of the small screen for decades and made a big impact on "Family Guy." Of course, that's the late Adam West. Before becoming Mayor Adam West on the show, he iconically played Batman from 1966 to 1968, starring alongside Burt Ward who played Robin.
Playing the mayor in Seth MacFarlane's animated comedy series seems like quite the departure from his days as Bruce Wayne. In a 2012 interview with IGN, West explained how this opportunity came about. "I had done a pilot with Seth [MacFarlane] that he had written for me. It turned out we had the same kind of comic sensibilities, and got along well. When 'Family Guy' came around and Seth became brilliantly successful, he decided to call me and see what I was doing. He asked if I would like to come aboard as the Mayor, and I thought it would be neat to do something sort of absurd and fun, " he said.
And while Batman and Robin are known as the dynamic duo, West was a part of another dynamic duo that included fellow "Family Guy" cast member Ralph Garman.
Garman and West became friends in the 1990s
Ralph Garman's voice can be heard on more than 200 episodes of "Family Guy." He has played various characters, including a waiter, a cab driver, and Dustin Hoffman. And he's happy that he got to work alongside his longtime friend Adam West. While eulogizing West during a 2017 episode of Babble Vision, Garman said that they first met in the 1990s. They started working together during the early 2000s when Garman was hired to play an Adam West fan in a mockumentary series for TV Land.
In a 2015 interview with Las Vegas Magazine, Garman said, "To become friends with your idol and not be disappointed, and have him be even better than you possibly could have imagined, for me has always been a thrill." Garman noted that he and West's daughter helped the TV legend get his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Garman also had the opportunity to help pay tribute to West's version of Batman by contributing to a comic series for DC Comics and Dynamite Entertainment. "Batman '66 Meets The Green Hornet" is a limited series written by Garman and Kevin Smith, who asked Garman to join the project given his extensive knowledge of the 1960s "Batman" TV series. The series was released in 2014.